I don't understand why the following combination of steps couldn't be
folded into screenreader technology:

1.  Some process that is akin to taking a screenshot of the active
window (Alt + Print Screen). See attached captured image I created with
the Paint program including "art" and text, then snagged with the Alt +
Print Screen key combination.

2.  Paste the clipboard image into a graphics program and do a SaveAs in a
format recognizable by your OCR application.

3.  Open the file in an Optical Character Recognition program capture
recognizable text.

4.  Use text-to-speech software to make the now recongizable text audible.


It seems that anything us sighted users can see in some application like
Adobe Acrobat which contains standard text shouldn't technologically be
inaccesible to a screenreader user.



Doug Hayman
Technology Specialist
DO-IT Program (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, Technology)
Box 355670
Seattle, WA 98195
(206) 221-4165
http://www.washington.edu/doit

On Mon, 12 Jan 2004, Alan Cantor wrote:

> Hello Screen Reader Experts,
>
> Do any screen readers handle the alternative text associated with images, Word
> Art, and ClipArt that are inserted in Word documents? JAWS 4.51 does not
> automatically read these Alt texts, but what about the latest version, or
> other screen readers? (Note: when you save a Word document in HTML, the Alt
> text comes through fine.)
>
> If anyone wants to experiment with an "accessible" Word 2000 document that
> consists entirely of images, I have attached a file that contains an image and
> an example of Word Art. Both objects have alternative text.
>
> Alan
>
> Alan Cantor
> Cantor + Associates Inc.
> Workplace Accommodation Consultants
> [log in to unmask]
> www.interlog.com/~acantor
>
>
>